Review a fixed fee before committing delivery capacity

Use assumptions and sensitivity to make a fixed-fee decision explicit.

ContractCanvas insights

Identify the uncertain work

A fixed client fee does not make effort fixed. List the items most likely to vary: interview availability, data quality, review rounds and the client’s decision process. For each, record the estimate and how a change would be handled. Avoid burying all uncertainty in one unexplained contingency percentage.

Run a small sensitivity

A sample CAD 15,000 fee with CAD 9,000 planned direct cost leaves CAD 6,000 contribution. A 20% cost overrun raises cost to CAD 10,800 and reduces contribution to CAD 4,200. A second scenario can change the fee or narrow scope. Keep each assumption separate so the reviewer can see the cause.

Check capacity as well as economics

A profitable estimate can still be impossible to deliver when the same lead is committed elsewhere. Review effort by role and delivery stage. The prototype’s project cost calculation does not replace a staffing calendar or prove that a named person is available.

Record the decision

Keep the accepted estimate, exclusions and dependencies with the approved version. If the decision is to accept uncertainty, say who accepted it and on what basis. Later actuals can inform a new estimate without rewriting what was known when the original fee was approved.